Every year smart technology is continuing to improve, especially MIFARE® DESFire. Schools, colleges, and universities are all primed to reap the benefits of DESFire technology as they continue to become more efficient, secure and affordable. The following three ways will help improve your establishment and help you to succeed in your goals.

CASHLESS VENDING

No cash, no problem. Good old cash is a relatively simple way of paying for things, but if you are carrying cash then you’re always going to be a target for theft. On the other hand, implementing a MIFARE DESFire technology gives the user peace of mind due to encryption, which can be used to have personal and payment details stored. This means if the card fell into the wrong hands the user can report this, and the card can be deactivated very easily and quickly.

Furthermore, if you can pay for goods by just holding your card within close proximity to the reader, then you're far more likely to make regular purchases than if you have to dig out the right change every time. This will encourage regular use of vending machines, which gives educational establishments a great opportunity to use the technology in conjunction with other programs; a healthy eating initiative for example!

CASHLESS CATERING

Similar to cashless vending, cashless catering is exactly what it states. You can employ cashless vending through different form factors such as wristbands, cards, and fobs. This enables the establishment to serve customers in a much more fluent manner, meaning that queuing times are dramatically reduced and therefore customer satisfaction is far higher than it would normally be, with traditional cash tills. Also, what makes cashless catering technologies so appealing is the fact that you can store an unlimited amount of customer information on them, meaning that every single one of your users can be quickly accessed on the database with the minimum of fuss. An additional benefit of our cashless catering systems is that all the information housed is secure and anonymous, meaning that those on free school meals don’t feel stigmatized as a result of any information being made public. The goal of this solution is the same as cashless vending, be more secure, reduce theft and improve efficiency.

TIME AND ATTENDANCE

Another way to improve your establishment is implementing a time and attendance system. This will allow you to accurately track who is in the building and make note of absences or checking what time a pupil registered. The way it works is the administration of registering students each time they enter class. Readers can be located outside each classroom to capture a scan of the students’ smart card. This means it will be able to write back attendance marks to the school’s Management Information System (MIS), taking the register for teachers automatically. This provides extensive reports that can be used to monitor student attendance levels, and in the case of an emergency, a complete list of who is on-site and where can be printed.

DOOR ACCESS

DESFire technology can be programmed to allow the user access to certain areas of the building. This means it's easy to divide staff and students, and efficiently provide them access only to areas that they need to be in. This will help to improve overall security by preventing unauthorized access to any areas dealing with sensitive information, storerooms, and records, etc. An RFID wristband or smart card can also take the place of regular keys for colleges or universities that have on-site dormitories, helping to prevent unauthorized access.

The major benefit of smart cards or wristbands is that they are much lighter and more convenient to wear than regular keys and even smart cards, which should in theory help reduce instances of them becoming lost, damaged, or stolen. If they are, then it's fairly easy to replace them.

Implementing DESFire is a great way of improving the efficiency of your educational establishment and you will seek the benefits you are looking for. If you would like to know more or would like to implement these solutions, then why not get in touch with one of our experts today!